The Coca-Cola Company, headquartered in Atlanta, has been no stranger in recent years to taking up the mantle of social justice causes, as the company has issued a multitude of statements and has donated millions to social causes. However, the company has been noticeably silent in the wake of Hamas’ terrorist attack in Israel, which left more than 1400 dead, including at least 30 Americans, and the increased threats to Jewish communities here at home. Notably, the company entered into a partnership with Zahi Khouri, a Palestinian businessman with a history of antisemitic comments, to build a $20 million bottling plant in Gaza in 2016.
“Do Israeli lives matter?” asked Restoration of America Founder and President Doug Truax. “Not apparently to many corporations who loudly virtue-signaled about BLM a few years ago but were deathly silent when the same BLM supported the slaughter of innocent citizens in Israel.”
According to the Washington Post, in 2020, Coca-Cola was among the 50 top-valued companies that reportedly pledged a donation for racial justice after the death of George Floyd. Coke pledged to donate 4 million dollars to the cause.
On June 4, 2020, the company published a statement on their website following the death of George Floyd with the headline, “Where We Stand on Social Justice.” The remarks were made by James Quincey, the CEO of Coca-Cola, during a virtual town hall held by the company. In his remarks, Quincey stated that “corporate America hasn’t made enough progress and nor has The Coca-Cola Company.”
Quincey’s remarks were not solely focused on George Floyd’s death but also named 10 others, including Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Trayvon Martin. He expressed his belief that corporate America has a “duty” to engage in social justice issues and made reference to Roberto Goizeuta’s statements in 1991, as then-Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola, following the beating of Rodney King.
The New York Post reported on October 20 that the company had quietly scrubbed all references to its past support for Black Lives Matter after the group’s Chicago chapter tweeted an image of a Hamas paraglider with the text “I Stand Palestine.” Paragliders were used by the Hamas terrorists to attack a music festival, where they proceeded to murder hundreds of civilian attendees and take others captive.
To date, Coca-Cola has not released any statements related to the terrorist attacks in Israel or renewed threats to the Jewish community worldwide.
CNN reported that, along with many large corporations, Coca-Cola’s silence is notable and troubling to groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which slammed corporate America’s lack of response as “disappointing at best, disastrous at worst.”
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, in 2016, The Coca-Cola Company and its Palestinian partner, National Beverage Company, opened a $20 million bottling plant in the Gaza Strip.
National Beverage Company was founded by Zahi Khouri who also served as its CEO until 2020. His partnership with Coca-Cola led to his being referred to as CEO of Coca-Cola Palestine, and the company touted Khouri’s “optimism, grit and reflection.”
However, an article from the Observer notes Khouri’s history of antisemitic comments and his support for boycotts and sanctions against the Jewish state. In a 2012 Washington Post opinion piece, Kouri seemed to insinuate that the state of Israel shouldn’t exist, as he wrote, “Israel did not make the desert bloom. Instead, thanks to a deal struck with the British viceroys of Mandate Palestine, it made away with a land, a set of institutions, and, indeed, a culture that was not its own.”
In response to Khouri’s incendiary rhetoric and calls to boycott Israel, Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein said, “Zahi Khouri’s antisemitic remarks confirm him as an opponent of the Jewish State of Israel’s existence,” and accused Khouri of engaging in a campaign of “progressive delegitimization of Israel so as to compel it to make untenable concessions to a Palestinian movement that has no intention of living in peace with Israel.”
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, an annual report from earlier this year by the Anti-Defamation League shows a significant rise in antisemitic incidents across the nation, with a 36 percent increase. Notably, Georgia experienced a disproportionately higher surge, marking a 63 percent increase in such incidents compared to the national average.
Just days after the terrorist attacks in Israel, hundreds gathered outside the CNN Center for a pro-Palestine rally, as reported by Fox 5.
According to the Georgia Recorder, State Senator Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell) was visiting Israel during Hamas’ brutal attack. After his experience, Goodman released a statement stating that he stood with Israel and the Jewish community in “solidarity against the disgraceful attacks” from both the Hamas terrorists in Israel “and terrorist sympathizers here at home.”
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Photo “Coca-Cola Building” by Hector Alejandro. CC BY 2.0.
